Newhall Stand-Off Ends, Suspect Still At Large

Update: This article has been changed to reflect new information from the Sheriff’s Department.

A five-hour standoff with the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau ended with at least 3 people arrested on drug charges. However, the primary suspect is still on the loose, according to officials.

The main suspect which started this standoff is a suspected robber, who allegedly stole $1,000 worth of merchandise from Lowe’s before leaving in a stolen Ford F-150.

According to a press release by the SCV Sheriff’s Department, deputies performed a traffic stop on that truck shortly afterwords. The driver, refusing to yield led Deputies on a short chase until the watch commander on duty called off the pursuit.

The Sheriff’s Department knows the name and description of the suspect but is currently withholding that information because it is an ongoing investigation.

After the chase was called off, the suspect ditched his car on the 24200 block of Cross Street and fled on bicycle. He then allegedly went to the house he was staying in and warned other occupants to leave before police arrived.

Neighbors familiar with the residence and the current occupants told Cougar News that the house was bought six months ago by a pair of brothers, somewhere between the age of 20 to 25.

“[There were] no [late-night] parties or anything like that,” said one resident who lives near-by. “But every time I looked at the place, there was never the same set of cars there. Yes it was suspicious, there was never anything threatening about it.”

The home was a halfway house for boys until six months ago when it was closed by the state and sold, according neighborhood residents.

Residents told Cougar News that when the new owners took over, they had also began remodeling the interior. They also claim that while there was nothing overtly wrong with the new occupants – they came and went as they pleased.

“Coming and going all hours of the night,” said another resident of the 24200 block. “But that’s the kinda thing you expect from 20-year old bachelors. They just come and go and it’s not out of the ordinary for them to run to Jack-In-The-Box at midnight.”

On tip from a neighbor about a suspicious vehicle, Deputies surrounded the house and detained one male occupant, who according to the press release told the officers on the scene that there were still three people in the house.

After numerous calls into the house, the officers established a perimeter and then called for the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau and a Canine Unit to enter the house and to clear it of any remaining occupants.

Over the course of the five-hour standoff, members of the SEB team shouted commands over loudspeaker, deployed tear gas, ignited stun grenades and physically searched the house. Deputies did not find the suspect.

Deputies arrested 2 people when they arrived by car outside of the police cordon. They were arrested on drug related charges and no names have been released at this time.

Witnesses within earshot of those encounters told Cougar News that they went up to the deputies and told the officers they were residents in the house and knew the main suspect.

This story is still on going and is subject to change as more information becomes available.